NationStates Jolt Archive

Rudolf Khan sat in his command vehicle watching the battle unfold before him. His command car sat on a small hill overlooking the mountain pass where his loyal troops where holding off an advance being made by rebels.

Just two weeks earlier Khan had been sitting comfortably in his governor’s palace when his top militia officers came in reporting that a major workers riot had turned into an armed revolt. And he had been even more shocked to learn that the entire police force on planet Kaledan had joined it, as well as parts of the militia.

The people of Kaledan had seized the local armories and one group had even taken over a major base where a large number of mobile suits had been captured. It was infuriating. And since that time, for two whole miserable weeks, his army had been hit, split in two, and forced to either end of the massive body of land that was the continent of Kaledan.

Khan watched as two of his Leo mobile suits moved and jumped down into the MS trench that his men had dug before the mountain’s entrance. Regular infantry toting machine guns and rifles where moving into position along with the last of Khan’s precious tanks. The rest having been captured in the first two days!

A militia officer stepped up to Khan. “Sir, we’ve just got a report from Lieutenant Michel, the rebels have fallen back into the pass. It would seem that they have retired for the day.” And indeed off in the distance the sound of weapons firing ceased and all was strangely quiet.

Khan nodded. “Thank you Major. I want you to reinforce the line; it’s out last line of defense. Meanwhile, I will be going to Calvistan City where I will set up headquarters. Continue the defense major.” The man saluted as smartly as a back world militia officer was able to do. Khan sniffed then sat back in his armored car. He yelled at the driver and they rumbled off, away from the front lines.

They drove for nearly two hours along a paved road and came over a ridge overlooking the sea. Below nestled next to a small river was Calvistan City, the last city under Imperial control.

Khan’s car drove through the deserted streets. Windows were boarded up, and stores closed. The streets where however filled with his ground troops, mostly wounded ones though. A few damaged Leos were squatted in a park. Khan noticed with mirth that one had stepped on the Ferris wheel. Engineers scrambled over the large humanoid bodies, sparks flying as they had torches to weld armor plates back into position.

The car drove on and came to rest before a large city hall. Khan stepped out, his full impressive height of 2.2 meters showing in his governor’s robes, red and black, swaying behind him. Soldiers nearby stood up and saluted. Khan paid them little notice and walked up the steps of the columned building.

Inside he came to a clerk’s desk. On it was a large mess of metal boxes, wires, antennas, and other metal oddments. Khan stepped over a large computer screen and stood next to the operator.

“Have you managed to make contact yet?” asked Khan. The operator, a small wiry man with a balding plate, looked up.

“Not yet sir, but I’m almost there. I’ve just started using the old military distress codes. I think it should work.”

“Very well, once you get a response, you are to transmit this hologram report.” Khan pulled out a small metal pad. It had a small wired sticking from one side. The man took it and nodded.

“Yes sir, I will be sure to send it, if they respond.”

“They will man, they will. The Empire of Thrashia must help or else they’re going to lose a precious planet.”

“Yes sir, I guess your right.”

“I’m always right!” Khan laughed evilly, the man also laughed but his laugh was hallowed. Without anything else to say Khan turned and swept himself off to the back office. He pulled out a small communicator and spoke with one of his body guards inquiring if that one village girl had been brought as he had ordered.

Up in the northern cold mountain area of Kaledan, Colonel Millers, commander of the 5th Militia Regiment was holding up with his men, or what was left of the original 5th Regiment. Miller had been with Governor Khan’s forces, when suddenly the two had been split down the middle when a rebel faction leader had smashed into their rear.

The result was Miller getting driven North, and Khan getting driven south. Miller was not a happy man.

His forces had taken a pounding all the way. They now held the Caradarack Valley in the north, a wide plain of tundra sounded on all sides but one by mountains. Miller’s only real link to Khan was his communications and the sea.

With only one mountain pass into the valley, his men now had an easier time of holding off the rebels. The last dozen of his mobile suits had been deployed and he just hoped they didn’t find something heavier than a anti-armor rocket in the old armories back at the captured military bases.

Another artillery round blasted off in the distance. Miller shook his head and went back to reading his maps, his aides standing near holding the paper down so the cold wind didn’t blow it over.

The Eastern porton of Kaledan revealed a number of men hiding out in the south-eastern part of the mid-eastern Kalden. It was in these lush forests near the ocean that many a rebel had hid out and based camp, storing mobile suits in abondonded buildings, and building up some tents and housings, Making it look like a community hidden in the wilderness. They ensured that none would find it, it was behind the mountains afterall, and only a few entrances and exits that made it easy for mobile suits to move to and fro.

It was with a cautious eye that Gregory Smith had watched his men come back from a patrol, and was now currently reading the report that a scout had given him. It didn't look good, none of it did. All expect that no one snooped around his area. They were hidden, for now.

OOC:

I'll post more later, k?

OOC:

Sorry, had to stop because people went to sleep and I needed to get off anyway. So, here's the rest.

IC:

Greg, as he was normally called, hadn't enjoyed most of the time he had made home in this place. ure, they had fishing capabilities, even a few crops here and there. But they still had to attack partols for main supplies, which angered him because he had to put his men in danger. The night before the scouting patrol, he was absolutley worried about them. His Commander had to reassure him that nothing would happen, and they'd keep their distance.

He sighed, sure it wasn't healthy, but he had rougly three thousand people under his command, precious souls who could literally change the tide of this continents history. He wanted that, he wanted their freedom, he wanted their independence. Hell, he swore to do all he could to make sure they WOULD experience freedom. But, everytime he ordered someone out, it was on his hands, and for some reason he had trouble dealing with that.

He never told anyone about it though, he just lit up a cigar and put back on his Sarge face as he watched his men leave. He could only guess it was because they were like family to him, every damn last one of them. He hated being seated here, knowing his men were out there, and not being there. His most trusted he had to even send.

"Oi, what a life."

"Sir?" A Lieutenant looked up at him as his Commander paced the floor, wondering what he could have burted out.

"Just talking to myself, Richard, thats all."

"Oh, well, anyway, I think I found something."

"Oh?" Gregory turned towards the table Richard was at, coming behind him for a look, puffing a bit of cigar smoke in the other direction. "What'cha got there?"

"Just some random reports coming in from scouting locations about current military patro-" He was cut off by Greg's sudden question.

"Patrols? I didn't know of any patrols."

"Of course not sir, not after you gave patrol command over to Sergant Lazaro."

"Oh...." Gregory cleared his throat, "Of course, sorry. I seem to be under a lot of thinking lately."

Richard put up a smile, "Yes sir, I understand." He gave Greg a detailed report of what was going on, and Greg put it in his jacket for later viewing.

With a thank you, Greg puffed his cigar and headed from the tent to the outside. He looked up to a bright day, the sun not as hot as it should be in forests and the like, mainly because of the cold wind coming from the mountains. It was a light breeze, a gentle one, a comforting one, that overtook Gregory as he took another puff. His mind was now off the worry for his men, and onto business. Looking at the paper as he reached and grabbed it from his jacket, he thought on the possibility of another raid, perhaps one to grab another mobile suit.

If anything, Greg knew he needed spare parts. Past raids had been succesfull, but torture on the Zaku I's. Most of them needed replacement parts to get working again, and there still was a good portion that needed at least one new part to get back to functioning.

Just on that thought, his eyes cought glimpse of an armed transport, hauling Zaku's supposibly. A miracle! It had to be!

Or a trap....

Taking another puff he thought of the implications, and started towards the planning tent, and calling a few specific person over to start a plan for tomorrow.

At a small village in a mountain valley a crowd gathered. The people gathered around knelt down Zaku Mobile Suit which had a man standing on the shoulder. He was not an impressive looking man; short but stocky he had a short grey beard and peppered grey hair. He very much so seemed like all the rest that had gathered here. He raised his arm and put his fist in the air as he began to speak. “My friends; my family; my people; you all know me! I am Alexander Klosnakvic and WE are here today because we have made a bold move. We have decided to stand against the oppressions of this governor and his lackeys! We have risen up and will force them to hear our words! ...”

He lowered his arm and gazed out onto the cheering crowd before he hung his head slightly. “…We have all lost much here. My wife died years ago when my family could not afford the medication she needed and only days ago my son was killed by the governor’s troops while protesting outside the governor’s mansion. We have all lost relatives and friends that we should not be forced to love only in our memories! …”

His head raised and he placed one hand on the head of the Zaku. “… We have taken the weapons of war we need to prove ourselves to the selfish people and with our brethren from all over this world we will stand and fight! Fight for a better life and fight for our very lives! We will no longer be put down!”

The crowd raised there arms and fists in the air while cheering. It was a glorious sight for Alexander. He knew that this was only the beginning and there was so much to be done or this would be all for not. It saddened him to think of the lives that would be lost for this act, but he knew also that it was necessary to protect their futures and the futures of generations to come. Alexander stepped down from the Mobile suit and made his way into a tent behind it.

For days now since the beginning of the revolt men, women, and children alike had been pouring into the remote mountain mining village. There numbers were nearly six thousand strong now and more came by the hour. They had set up camps of row after rows of tents. People shared their houses and shacks with anyone who came. These people were bruised by the establishment but not beaten. Nothing would take their spirit from them.

Alexander and a few men stood in a large tent around a table with maps and other documents on it. One of the other men looked at him and asked. “What will we do Alex? This has gone to far now.”

“You’re right Yurik, it has gone too far. Too far to turn back now and if we do not continue all these people will die one way or another.” Alex replied.

Alex continued. “This area is perfect to defend. The mountain passes are difficult for any who do not know them as well as us to pass and the cloud cover and storms that often move over this area will make it hard in not impossible to track our movements by satellites and sensors. Even if they do find us here we can move the people and supplies into the old caves and mines in the hills and mountains around the valley. There are so many tunnels interconnecting that even if they tried to block us in or trap us we should be able to find our way out.” While he pointed to several locations on a map.

“That’s all well and good Alex but these people are hardly warriors or soldiers.” Said one of the men.

“Yes I know but we have some ex-policemen and women here that might be able to help with that. The training will be limited but with time anything can happen. Necessity is the mother of invention and when your life depends on it you would be surprised at what you can do.” Said Alex in an attempt to comfort the worries of the other men.

This was very true even for Alexander. Only days earlier he had been working in a factory next to many of these men and women he now stood next too planning a revolution. He had never planned on such a thing to happen. He had had power thrust up on him as though fait had its plan for him. Now only time could tell what the days ahead would bring for him and his people.

Ugh, Thought the courrier, picking himself and his motor bike up from the mud hole he'd discovered. Why for the love of God did it have to be a swamp? He was not very keen on running the route from HQ to the boys at West Base, but it was supposedly a huge promotion.

He was carrying A snippet of intelligence. Not much, but at least it was SOMETHING. He entered the makeshift compound, his bike dwarfed by the prone form of an old leo, laying in a very small clearing. Somehow, they had managed to get the thing mostly apart, and were distributing the parts in trucks for transport to a hidden staging area. Movement like this was incredibly tedious and difficult, but it could be done almost completly hidden from the prying eyes of orbiting sattelites. Few units were moved like this, but it was done quite strategicly.

He motored through the checkpoints, finally reaching the tent of the leader. Handing the briefcase to another orderly, he grabbed an outgoing message and took off again.

===================================

Charles Franklin Mettery sat in his office, looking over the slim intel. So they're somewhere to the west, and others somewhere to the south? Not much to go on. "Get the troops hidden and dispperse the command camp. We're going to hide and find out who hit that mech facility. They will be a great asset in the worker's revolution. I also want us to get more concrete intel." An orderly snapped-to, saluted, and left quickly. The orders would be put through quickly.

To these people, the revolution was all that mattered. For too long had this imperialist swine held sway over the people of this great nation. It was time for change, and in the biggest way possible.

He left the tent, to speak to what forces still remained at this staging area. Morale was decent, but the hard trek into this damned frozen mire had sapped much energy. No matter. It is time to remind them of why they're here.

He moved to another small clearing, standing on the back of a truck to get some elevation above the throng of several hundred who stood there.

"Friends, brothers, workers of this great planet. I have most recently recieved intelligence telling me that we have driven this imperialist swine as far as the high walls of the northern mountains and the open plains of the great southland. These areas are quite defensible for them, but do not be fazed by these imperialists, these PIGS.

There was once a time when all of us were slaves in their factories. The evil oppressor Khan," the word was almost spat out, "and his lackeys got fat off of the meat of our world. I, for one, worked in one that produced parts for the very mobile suits that enforced his insane rule." He called out into the crowd. "Peter Ralson, you were once made to mine in the deep places of the earth for no pay. Am I right?"

A voice from the back. "Aye! And if we didn't work, they would beat and rape your wives!" It was a plant, but the desired effect was created.

"But now we are all here, here to throw off the chains that bind us. Here to destroy the serpent in our Eden, here to institute a regime of the worker, not the politician. Here to claim this planet as our birth right! Onward my brethren, do not loose focus! Our hour of glory is nigh, a perfect rule of the people over oppression!"

Cheers greeted him as he lept off the back of the truck. Men and women pushed towards the next area, a more permenant and better hidden base that more efficient strikes could be launched from.

He could sense the feeling of victory in his troops. They would fight on regardless of their minuscule number of tanks and mechs. They would win over the evil oppressors, and finally have peace on Kaledan.

It took three days before the communications black-out was overcome by Rudolf Khan’s comms operator. The distress signal which they had sent was immediately answered by an Imperial courtier, one of the many dukes and lords of Emperor Shadaum’s court. Duke Duivell was the one who had answered it. He was the military governor of the planet Trius, less than a system away. Rudolf Khan stood next to the hologram projector, speaking with Duivell at that very moment.

“Look Duivell, I don’t have time nor the men to waist seeing you gloat. Send me assistance or send my message back to the Emperor. If I don’t get a real army here the empire would lose Kaledan!” said Khan. The image of a small man with long hair and a wise face cackled at Khan.

“Oh, there is always time to gloat my ‘old friend’, always time for that. I happen to be playing host to Field Marshal Noventa, commander of the 1st Mobile Army. I am sure that if you really need the help, then he can give it to you. I myself am not going to send my planet’s militia, your filth might spread,” said Duke Duivell. Khan nodded.

“Whatever assistance you can send me would be worth anything.”

“Anything Khan?” asked Duivell, a note of change in the old man’s voice gave Khan pause. He thought about it, then decided he couldn’t afford to sit there arguing with the old man.

“Y-yes.”

“Very well then, after this whole rebellion of yours is over you will begin sending me 30% of all revenue made from your titanium and gold mines. I have need of them,” said Duke Duivell. Khan’s eyes widened in fury. 30%! That was usury! Khan bit back his anger and kept his face calm and serene, but he could tell the old man wasn’t fooled, the bastard.

“Very well Duivell, very well. You’ll have your 30%.”

“Good. On that note, I will leave now to inform Field Marshal Noventa of his new assignment. I am sure he’ll be there within a week, at the latest.”

“A week!”

“Yes my dear governor. The transportation of an army takes some time. I will of course urge the Field Marshal to make haste, but other than that I can do nothing more,” said the old Duke. His face was cracked into a smile, obviously entertained by Khan’s discomfort.

“Just tell them to hurry. I only have a small force of mobile suits left, and my infantry are starting to desert,” said Khan miserably.

“Very well governor, until we meet again.” The small hologram disappeared and the old Duke vanished. Khan slammed his fists into his desk. He was not a happy man at this moment.

Gregory Smith sat in his MS-05B Zaku I, its mechanical arm gripping tightly the 105mm barrel fed Machine Gun as its red eye gazed eeriely at the road ahead. It was crouched in the dense trees, along with a few other mobile suits that had been brought along for this daring raid. A slight hiss came from its leg as it gathered the required pressure to stance upwardly in its crouch, the tree line moving heavily as birds flew away with cry's of anger.

Greg looked at the screen in front of him, the red eye gazing too and fro, locking onto a convy some miles away that, luckily, hadn't seen his intrusion. A bit of steam released itself from the joints of the old suit as it lowered back below the tree line. Its eye turning towards a croched MS-06 Leo that had turned its torso slight to have its head looking at Gregs Zaku.

How we gonna do this Colonel, came a silent transmission from a fellow ex-militia man, Frank Salesta.

"I'd say we wait for them to get just in range, and use that old 'surround'em and attack' thing. Said it a hundred times Franko."

Yea, yea...sorry.

"Alright, radio silence, their nearing."

Pressing the silence button, Greg allowed the Zaku's eye to gaze at a few mobile suits that seemed to have unusual emblems on them. Sure, his militia had a V symbol with a circle on it, the Ol' V for Victory, but these seemed different. Perhaps they weren't of the damn Imperalists, but no matter, they seemed to have parts and crates and the like, and their Tank escorts were mixed with a few mobile suits.

"Easy to kill, no big'un here." He was confident as he whispered those words to himself, making sure his straps were tight and his hands ready for the quick manuveres required for battle. This was a pure MS assault, no men, no tanks. It was too risky with enemy suits walking about. His teeth clenced as he saw the convy near the beginning of his fellow MS'ers ambush line. His sensors were already set to passive to prevent detection, yet everyone was close enough to detect easily.

"Just a bit more you bastards..."

He clenches his fist against the control stick and speed stick that were on both sides of the cockpit, the mobile suit seemingly responding by clenching tighter on its weapon, raising it slowly as it seemed to get into a proper position for an attack. He looked back at the passive radar screen, they were close enough. He pressed the silence button again to enable communications.

"Get the Imperial Scum!" He roared over the comm.

Immedietly he witnessed four suits in the back of the ambush line come from the forest, one being a Zaku and having its Heat Hawk ready as it thrusted and attempted to slice one of the guarding Leo's. Greg pushed the trottle and the contol stick forward, moving the feet peddles and feeling the thrusters jump his Zaku forward as its feet slammed to the ground several meters ahead, torso twisting as its eye gazed at a tank, gun following and immedietly blazing a few rounds into it.

Two more followed behind and beside Greg's Zaku, Frank's Leo slamming an arm into another mobile suit and using the other arm to fire its 105mm rifle to put several rounds into a missile platform that looked about ready to strike a fellow Zaku.

(OOC)

Leaving it here for anyone to respond properly.

The small convoy was decimated almost instantly. One Leo suffered from the physical strike, the dozens of additional rounds slicing through it cut most of its hydraulic lines. As it fell to the ground, it off-balanced one of its bretheren, who became trapped in the debris and disabled. The final Leo began firing its gun madly at the attacking Zakus, narrowly dodging the initial Heat Hawk attack.

The half dozen guarding ground vehicles weren't so lucky. One of the missile platforms was cut to shreds by 120mm rifle fire, its payload lighting up the area intensely. Several other ground units tried to fight back, but surrounded as they were, all was more than lost.

As the last tank was disabled from the explosion of its extremely near neighbor, one of the men in the trucks waved a white shirt on a long metal rod, and a silence covered the caravan. So full of fury as these men and women were, but they were still civilians and police, not yet molded into a tactical fighting force.

The surviving ranking officer of the group staggered out of his batterd Leo, still immobilised under the wreckage of another. He ripped his short-range portable radio mike off his sholder and screamed into it on a hailing channel, ignoring everything around him.

"We surrended damn you. You may get us, but the people's revolution shall liberate this nation from oppressive Imperialist swine. Run home to mommy Khan and the rest of the reindeer, you pigs, and fear the wrath of the people of this nation. We shall triumph over your bourgeois puppet-masters."

Within the week the promised reinforcements arrived on Kaledan. The 1st Mobile Army, under the command of Field Marshal Noventa, landed with great force. With the landing of these large forces, most rebels faded into the landscape, faced with the awesome force of some 1,500 Leo-Zaku forces and over 15,000 of the trained Assault Troopers.

Noventa himself landed in the capitol of Kaledan: New Quake City. He proclaimed marshal law and took control over the planet from Governor Rudolf Khan, who when notified of the Field Marshal’s arrival, rushed from his southern fortress and came to the capitol to report.


Two black uniformed Assault Troopers led the tall governor through the halls of his own palace. It had been a month since he had last seen his home, but now it was no longer his home.

The guards stopped outside his old office. “The Field Marshal is waiting for you inside sir,” said one of the guards. The two guards took flanking positions at the door. Khan nodded, a little apprehensive. He stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

Standing behind ‘his’ desk was Field Marshal Cordak Noventa, dressed in the black-red uniform of a Thrashian Field Marshal, and he had a look of deep annoyance on his face when he spoke, “ah, Governor Khan, I am glad you came. Perhaps you could explain why you called me here, and my men?”

Khan stuttered then stopped speaking and gathered his thoughts. “I don’t know what you mean commander; I am merely a governor who asked for assistance against a rebellion.”

“One which you instigated apparently; I’ve read all the reports and talked face to face with several citizens of this planet. Your policies seem rather…unscrupulous governor,” said Noventa. He had iron gray hair but his bright blue eyes where sharp as he stared at Khan.

“I did nothing more than what any other governor does to fulfill his duty to the Emperor.”

“Well your duty is now terminated.”

Without Khan having heard the two guards had entered the room, and had aimed their assault rifles at Khan. They now fired two shots each into the governor’s back. Khan fell without a sound, dead before he hit the floor.

“Get that trash out of here. And then get me Intelligence; I want to know the names of these rebels. Also, I want the Planetary Guard to report in, their now officially under my direct command.”

“Yes sir!” The two guards unceremoniously dragged the corpse away.

A new shift of power had come to Kaledan.

The small convoy was decimated almost instantly. One Leo suffered from the physical strike, the dozens of additional rounds slicing through it cut most of its hydraulic lines. As it fell to the ground, it off-balanced one of its bretheren, who became trapped in the debris and disabled. The final Leo began firing its gun madly at the attacking Zakus, narrowly dodging the initial Heat Hawk attack.

The half dozen guarding ground vehicles weren't so lucky. One of the missile platforms was cut to shreds by 120mm rifle fire, its payload lighting up the area intensely. Several other ground units tried to fight back, but surrounded as they were, all was more than lost.

As the last tank was disabled from the explosion of its extremely near neighbor, one of the men in the trucks waved a white shirt on a long metal rod, and a silence covered the caravan. So full of fury as these men and women were, but they were still civilians and police, not yet molded into a tactical fighting force.

The surviving ranking officer of the group staggered out of his batterd Leo, still immobilised under the wreckage of another. He ripped his short-range portable radio mike off his sholder and screamed into it on a hailing channel, ignoring everything around him.

"We surrended damn you. You may get us, but the people's revolution shall liberate this nation from oppressive Imperialist swine. Run home to mommy Khan and the rest of the reindeer, you pigs, and fear the wrath of the people of this nation. We shall triumph over your bourgeois puppet-masters."

Gregory Smith made his Zaku do a "halt" hand signal as the Zaku's eye zoomed closer to the individual. When he heard the words, he immiedietly put on the Zaku's loudspeakers.

We are of the Victory Militia, wanting to take down the Imperialistic scum also. How can you be on an Imperial Patrol? Is this a trick?!

Gregory Smith made his Zaku do a "halt" hand signal as the Zaku's eye zoomed closer to the individual. When he heard the words, he immiedietly put on the Zaku's loudspeakers.

We are of the Victory Militia, wanting to take down the Imperialistic scum also. How can you be on an Imperial Patrol? Is this a trick?!

The commanding officer paused a moment, catching his breath from his rant. He thought for a second, and decided that his position wasn't exactly one to bargin with.

"You might call is a trick we play on the Imperials. Plus we've no time to repaint everything. Get down here, we'd better talk. This means the worker's revolution has spread farther than we anticipated."

It was then that Gregory smith smiled for the first time in many days, calling his men to begin assisting whatever they could and whomever they could. Of course, some would stay in suits to stand guard. Gregory would lean his Zaku into a knealing position, the chest opening for him to exit the cockpit, and he would use a tether to come to the ground. He walked towards the one whom spoke up, handgun in his holster, and he would help him to stand.

"I am Colonel Gregory Smith, of the Victory Militia. Who are you?"

The man still struggled against the large piece of debris. However, as the Colonel eared, he lay still, twisting to get a better view. "Acting Third Lieutennant Fredrick Laslow, People's Liberation Front. I trust you've heard of us?

Our group is from up north. We were sent here for intel and recon. Heard something about the worker's revolution taking out a full fledged mech depot, so we came to investigate."

Gregory called a few men over who had the expertise to help the acting Third Lieutenant.

"Yes, we have a mech depot and a village deep after the mountains, well hidden in forests and near the ocean for good fishery."

He would assit him from the wreckage after a momentary use of equipment to assit his escape, and he would help him stand.

"You feeling alright, broken bones, anything?"

"Nothing broken, no thanks to the too-good camo and a bad time for you to be hitting convoys. Not exactly the way I'd invisioned we'd be gathering intel, but this works I guess.

We're going to need to coordinate the people's revolution more thoroughly to take the fight to these imperialist dogs. Do you have somewhere we can get this stuff under cover before their spysats and other patrols start coming out in force again? We need to speak of many things."

Gregory grinned, "Yes, I do in fact. We'll get some trucks down here and some cargo loaders immedietly. Don't worry, we use hidden paths. Now, as for talking, you can use one of my mens mechs to get back. A few need to stay here anyway to supervise the load-up."

He would gesture to an empty Zaku, "Take that one, we can talk more there." He would then head towards his Zaku, hoping that Fredrick Laslow would follow.

He followed quickly, glancing behind him as his men asessed damage and began to pack things up. They had already begun to move the still operable Leo under cover, and the other equipment was being scavanged for usable parts.

Hopping into the Zaku's empty seat, he qued up a short range inter-mech comm channel. "I have the distinct feeling that I'm in love. Leos are... well, they can be finicky sometimes."

Gregory smirked a laugh as he felt his Zaku stand tall, the hissing of joints and other similar parts could be heard as it gathered strength to hold properly its weight. Its eye flashed on with a very reconizable sound, and it looked left and right automatically. Its hands moved, as so its torso, as it slowly turned around with the compression of its legs to properly stance as it faced its path.

Greg turned his mic on so he could respond. "Leo's arn't as reliable as the old Zaku's in many ways. The specific reason, that I can gather, is that its agility and worthy handling of itself. This Zaku," an audioble pat on metal could be heard, "has been with me since the beginning. Its an Old one too, and it has yet to let me down."

Meanwhile in the secluded mountain village and encampment of the group now calling themselves the Kaledan Liberation Front or KLF, Alex was hold up in his tent with some of his commanding officers if they could even be called that. The tents flap opened and in walked two men. One of which didn’t seem that old at all.

“Hey Alex, this is Joseph Cranden. He was the communications operator for the local industrial complex. He has some good ideas he would like to share with ya.” Said the older man.

“Really that’s great. Lets hear it kid!” replied Alex.

“Well sir…” started Joseph.

“… It’s ok boy, ya don’t have to call me Sir. I’m no officer and ya can call me Alex.” Interrupted Alex.

“Ok sir… I mean Alex, when me and my family came here I brought some of the equipment from the communications building with me. If we set it up we might be able to use some of it.” He said.

“And that’s not the best part!” Said the older man “Tell him about the other kid.”

“Well… If we put up a big antenna on one of the high peaks of this mountain we might be able to use it to listen in on troop movements and patrols.” Said Joseph

Alex started. “That’s a damn good idea Joseph!” While slamming his hand on the table. “With the altitude up here we would be able to monitor transmissions for hundreds of miles.”

“And as long as we do not transmit it should be fairly hard for anyone to find out we are here.” Replied Joseph

“GOOD Job old boy. Get it done. Get with anyone you need and get an antenna up on those peaks.” Ordered Alex

Joseph and the other man quickly exited the tent and made preparations to start on the antenna. They didn’t think it should be hard to build with the shops in the village and the machine shop at the mines and shouldn’t take that long either. After they left Alex and the others discussed their situation.

“… They aren’t doing to bad Alex. A lot of these boys are really good with rifles… the women too. Some of our ‘pilots’ are having problems but they are getting the hang of it rather quickly. Faster then I thought they would.” Said Markus Trimblar a scruffy old man who had been one of the ex-police and had even served with the militia in his younger years. "We even managed to gather up a lot of the explosives that are used in the mines. They are old but should work nicely. I've got one of the industrial workers fabricating some presure detonators for them now. I'm hopping we can use them as anti-armor mines against the tanks and Mobile Suits."

“That’s good Markus. Do you think they will be ready for some raids soon? Hunting can only take us so far past our rations and stored goods.” Asked Alexander

“Well I hope so, or it’ll be a short rebellion don’t you think?” replied Markus

“Short indeed. We can not afford to let these people down. They have nothing to go back to if we loose this fight.” Said Alexander in a somewhat worried voice masked by attempts not to show weakness to his men.

“That’s why we will win Alex. We have nothing to loose and everything to gain. It’s this that will make us fight even harder and to the last. For our lives, for our children’s lives. We will when!” exclaimed Yurik another of Alexander’s men.

“No one could ask them of more and of you. I’m glad and honored to fight with you guys.” Alex said. “Lets plan for our next major supply raid.”

The men went back to work. There was much to be done and little time to do it in. Not knowing yet of the others on their side that would help buy them time they thought for sure that they would be targeted soon by Imperial troops. Their planning lasted long into the night with the men resting only some to get something to eat.

Field Marshal Noventa’s chief aide, Colonel Halleck, entered the Marshal’s office in a flurry. Novetna himself was sitting at his desk reviewing orders and memos that all had to do with running an army. He had clerks working on the small stuff round the clock, but he was still forced down with paper work himself.

“Yes Colonel?” asked Noventa. The Colonel came in and saluted smartly. Noventa merely nodded in return. A Field Marshal didn’t have to properly salute back to anyone except the Emperor.

“Sir, I am here as ordered. We have successfully absorbed all of Governor Khan’s intelligence groups and even his secret police into C.M.I. (Central Military Intelligence) and most of those old organizations contacts throughout the country side.” Noventa perked up at this news. Halleck continued.

“And sir, we have fully recovered and re-classified all of Khan’s old intelligence files. We have the name of every known citizen on Kaledan, and everything the Planetary Government was able to collect on each,” said Halleck. Novetna smiled broadly.

“You have a list of names, the rebels I presume?” the Field Marshal asked.

“Yes sir, but from thus far, there are very few names. The governor’s secret police were quite efficient at their tasks. However we have at this moment only one name. He’s a man who was recorded as having made accusations against the State and was jailed once for disorderly conduct in public. We have an old photo and finger prints. However the report we took from Khan’s vaults show that he disappeared three years ago. Just as rebel movements were supposedly starting. His name is Gregory Smith.”

“So you mean he could be leading one of these rebel groups who have infested this god-forsaken planet?” asked Noventa.

“Yes sir, which is exactly what I am saying. My men are working on finding out all of the groups and their leaders; but it is taking some time to collect the report in full,” said Colonel Halleck. Noventa nodded again, happy with this news that they had a name.

“Very well…anything else to report?”

“Yes, Colonel Miller, commanding officer of the loyal planetary militia, is waiting out in the hall for you.”

“Ah yes! I remember, I asked to see him. Very well, invite him in, and then return to your post Colonel.” Halleck nodded, saluted, then turned and walked back out of the room. Noventa stepped behind his desk to a small liquor cabinet and rewarded himself with a glass of brandy.

He turned as the door came open again. Wearing the brown-black uniform of the Kaledan Militia and the epaulettes of a colonel, Miller walked in. He saluted smartly and waited.

“Colonel Miller, 5th Kaledan MS Regiment, 2nd Corp reporting for duty sir!”

“At-ease Colonel, I thank you for coming so speedily. I trust your forces are now encamped outside of New Quake City?” asked Noventa. He put his glass of brandy down, noticed the Colonel’s eyes follow the motion, a look of slight longing in his eyes. The colonel looked back up into space.

“Yes sir they are. I am however in need of medical supplies for some of my men who are wounded, as well as more rations. My men are short on both.”

“I will see to it that you are provided with both. What is the present status of your force?”

“All told: 59 Zaku mobile suits, 14 Leo mobile suits all in working condition; 84 Alpha-class battle tanks; 43 APCs; 73 MS pilots, 109 medicos, 734 infantry, and 23 officers myself included. That is all that is currently left of the northern Kaledan militia garrison. I have no clue as to the forces in the south that where under Governor Khan,” said Miller, he thought wearily of his men and their long march back from the far north. They’d been slightly harassed by a few rebels, but for the large part had made it safely to the center of the continent.

Noventa nodded. He was still trying to bring more troops down from orbit. He had spoken with Treize already via holo-comm and was expecting a small force of Specials to arrive. If he was going to root out this rebellion and completely restore it, he felt he needed surmounting odds.

He looked at the tired Colonel. “I am putting the southern militia garrison under your command as well General Miller, and you are to command them as a single task force.”

Miller’s eyes widened. “General sir!? I can’t-,” he began, Noventa cut him off.

“That’s an order General. The rest of your troops who are now less than a few miles marching up from the south consist of 73 Zakus, 23 Leos, and some 800 infantry. They are being ordered to your encampment. I am entrusting this command to you. Once your men have fully rested and recuperated, I will have them operate in concert with my own forces. Understood General?”

“Yes sir, Field Marshal,” said General Miller. He felt a bit light headed as he saluted and left the room. He picked up the new epaulettes of a general, hooked them on his shoulders and neck and cap, then returned to his post.

OOC: bump, also you guys, if you make any terrorist attacks (explosives) then tell me. I have cool pics with mobile suits in them that can go along with it, for the after-affect.

bump

Gregory skillfully led his Zaku through the pass in the mountain, making sure his men, and his quests, were both safe. When they would exit the pass, they passed two small towers, followed by an entrance-way into what seriously looked like a thriving village. He would turn the Zaku, and stop, turning around, and knealing the Zaku beside a few others that were shut down underneath a natural rock formation. He watched intently as the returning Mobile Suits were led to designated docking areas in rock formations and natural cover, Gregory exiting his Mobile Suit from the tred line and walking towards a huge tent, patting one passing Militia officer and asking him to escort the quests to the Command Tent.

With a soft sigh he enetered the Command Tent himself, sitting on a fold-out chair and lighting up a cigar he had in his pocket. He hadn't plans to do anything as of yet, finding others of his type was good enough. Hopefully, soon, talks would esnure that would help them join forces.

He nodded to himself assuringly, taking a long puff of the cigar, tasting it, and exhaling the smoke.

"Damn good thing we found'em.."

Miller sat in his command tank watching on vid screens as his men were in column formation. Out around them the open green fields of Kaledan were gently flowing as the sea, the wind blowing ever so softly. The sky was blue and clear, the sun shining but not too hot.

It was a beautiful day.

"Sir," said his transmission aide. "We're picking up messages from the 12th Delphi Company, Thrashian 1st Army detachment." The Colonel- now General - Miller moved up in his seat to listen to the man's headset. It was full of messages and the sounds of gun fire.

"Are they in need of support?" asked Miller.

"It doesn't seem that way sir, but they're about seven klicks up ahead around the mountain's arm. There were reports of rebels in Harrisburg, the small town there."

"Rebels in Harrisburg?!" asked Miller expasperated. "Whoever thought of such a rediculous thing!"

"Well it seems like combat is being joined."

"Very well lieutenant. Lets get over there and see if this is true and that there really are rebels there."


The command car sped past walking Zakus and the long line of transports carrying the last of the Militia Infantry. It took less than twenty minutes to reach a large rise on the mountain that allowed Miller and his aide to look down onto the town.

The sky was filled with smoke, and with his eyes Miller could see fires. He jumped on top of his car and pulled out his binoculars. The city came into sharp focus.

Thrashian Army mobile suits roamed the streets, firing at anything that moved, and things that didn't move. They crushed buildings and smashed civilain vehicles.

"What the hell are they doi-" Miller suddenly was stopped in his words by what he saw.

On the outskirts of town a mass of women and children and a few elderly men were running down the road from the town. Miller could see them clutching their lifes possesions and each other. Fear was evident on their faces.

He watched as they ran further until suddenly they reached a road block. Sitting there were a group of tanks and a large number of Thrashian Army Assault Infantry, all dressed in their black uniforms.

One of them stepped forward and held up his palm, calling the people to halt. The women, children and others all stopped. Some showed relief. Mille focused on the Assault Infantry leader. His men were encircling the group of 40 odd civilians and herding them off the road. The commmander was speaking into a telephone device. The man nodded and put the phone on the reciever.

He walked over to where the women were now resting on the field. He had his men come back onto the road bank, then they all leveled their weapons. Before the women or children could react, they opened fire. Bullets churned into young flesh and blood flowed forth. It was over in minutes.

When they ceased fire, the officer stepped back down into the field among the bodies. With astonishing precision and lack of emotion the man drew his pistol and began methodically putting a bullet into the head of each woman, child, and man.

Miller pulled his eyes away. His aide threw up and walked away for a moment. Miller smashed his binoculars into the roof of his car, he smashed his fist into it, calling in anguish at what he had seen. He looked back at the city. More Thrashian Army mobile suits were there. They were using their guns, beam swords, and Heat Hawks, simply destroying it; turning the once beautiful quiet town of 30,000 into rubble.

"Lieu-...Lieutenant...get-....get Major Ferral to bring the men here to the western side of the mountains arm. We'll camp here tonight," said Miller. His voice was edged with anguish and hatred. The Lieutenant wiped his arm across his mouth and nodded. He got onto the cars radio and began speaking into it.

Miller jumped down from the car and sat down, laying his back against the wheel. He leaned forward and pressed his face into his hands and cried for a long time.

The camp fires were lit and it was well into the night when Major Ferral reported General Miller. The general sat next to his command car, overshadowed by a line of Zaku mobile suits in park position. The general himself sat in a small stool over looking a fire. He looked up when the fairly young major stepped forward.

"Sir, here as your requested." Miller nodded.

"Sit down major." The man sat. "Have the men seen it?" He didn't care to name what it was they saw.

"Y-....yes sir. The majority of them have. A few of the men were restrained. About 13 of our men where from Harrisburg."

Miller nodded. He had no idea as to the lengths in which the Thrashian Army was would go to, to keep this planet under its control.

"And sir, we have a certain Sergeant Mic'allen of Rotterdam (city in the north coast) who has a sister."

"What does that matter?"

"His sister's husband is invovled heavily with the Rebels." Miller looked up.

"You mean-"

"Many of the men are already thinking of tearing off their uniforms and taking their guns into the hills. I asked them then have talked to you. We all want to rid ourselves of following the orders of murderers. I'd rather fight them."

"All of them think this?"

"Yes."

"Then I will speak with the men in the morning, concerning this," said Miller, he leaned back and closed his eyes. The major nodded and got up and left the General alone.

OOC:

Oooh, its gettin good....can't wait to see when other post...

Fredrick Laslow nodded in approval at the extensive complex. The Zaku's hydraulics hissed as it came to rest in its own socket, and the acting third lieutennant debarked. He headed over to where his acquaintance had gone, examining the extensiveness of the base.

"This is a lot better than what we have. We're up in those northern swampy hell-holes. No way they'll try to come after us cause of the terrible terrain, but if they do we don't have a whole lot of cover."

===============================

Charles Mettery looked over the intel on Harrisburg. Fifty good men had been holed up in there, one barely made it out with his life and wife, his children killed by an early barrage.

A few strings were pulled, a couple signals hacked, the transmission bounced through so many towers that it was untraceable even to the planet, and video recordings complete with sound and commentary hit the nets.

In one, Charles himself said a few words at the end.

"Is this the Thrashia that was built so long ago? Has it so completly forgotten the worker that it would destroy them?

I was a worker in a factory, stacking boxes for not even enough money to feed myself, wife, and children. My followers are my fellow factory workers, coal miners, friends, neighbors, people. We are the working soul of Thrashia, we are the heart and lungs, muscles and tendons, bones and back of this great nation." Tears came to his personable face, digitally lined and dirtied a tiny ammount for effect. "Do not forget us, people of Thrashia. For if you forget us, then freedom will be truely lost. Save us, because only you can.

Workers unite! Only together can we save the ones we love from this." Another clip of the town burning, citizens fleeing in terror from the huge mechs advancing.

When he had finished the recording and sent it, Charles went to a small vigil for the dead. They would be remembered and avenged.

"You managed to contain the broadcast?" asked Noventa. He sat behind a row of computers and technicians who were working at them.

"Yes sir. It was short wave frequincy. It was broadcast, but only over a short distance. My estimates say that only those people within a 75 mile radius of the original broadcast saw it. We have a large amount of our Assault Infantry moving into the area, targetting stations and radio towers. There won't be another broadcast," said Colonel Halleck. He stood near the Field Marshal, the light from computer screens playing off his face causing his features to be scewed.

"Good. Has Treize answered my message yet?"

"Yes Field Marshal. He says that he will be arriving within two weeks to correct your mistakes."

"My mistakes!?"

"Yes sir, those were his direct words. He said that you have made mistakes in your operations; that making a pogram against these people is not the key."

"Who is he to criticize me? I shall speak with him when he arrives. How many men is he bringing?"

"I suspect quite a few. From the comm scan report I had from Selusus Secundas, some 300 ships have blasted off. It could mean that he is bringing an entire army equal or greater than our forces here."

"It matters not. The space ports in orbit will be ordered to allow only a fraction down to the planet."

"Unless his Excellency Treize finds a way past that."

"He won't, I promise you. Now, how does the Operation Dark Dagger?" asked Noventa. The operation was the brain child of information that had thus far been made on the rebel factions.

"Colonel Fenring and Colonel Atreides both report that their companies are moving into position. The operation will commence on time."

"Very good, very good. At least some good news I have had today."

Fredrick Laslow nodded in approval at the extensive complex. The Zaku's hydraulics hissed as it came to rest in its own socket, and the acting third lieutennant debarked. He headed over to where his acquaintance had gone, examining the extensiveness of the base.

"This is a lot better than what we have. We're up in those northern swampy hell-holes. No way they'll try to come after us cause of the terrible terrain, but if they do we don't have a whole lot of cover."

Gregory puffed his cigar away from Fredrick, and he nodded to his comments. "Yes, I chose these mountain passes because their easily defended. From space, its hidden in the large tree line, and from the ground, anyone can be destroyed without much notice. I made sure my people were taken care of."

He took another puff, "I have planned a single operation recently, but I halted it because I didn't know where to go. You seem to know more of the Imperialists ways, correct?"

When the Thrashian troops arrived, they would find nothing but an abandoned repeater transmitter on top of a mountain, directed at the town in the valley below and that town's hypernet uplink. The rebel forces had been careful to not send the transmission within about a hundred kilometers of their foreward positions.

By this time, they knew of the mission failure, and sent a team even farther into the field with a jerry-rigged tight-beamer. Normally, these systems could send a directed signal across vast stellar distances. However, this one could only hit comsats in orbit. The plan was to hack into these sats and bounce the signal into the hypernet from there.

It was dangerous, the jerry-rigged tightbeamer sent off a lot of residual energy as it transmitted. However, they could immediatly get the signal hosted and repeated all over the universe if they succeeded. And as extra precaution, no one carried anything that might possibly tell the enemy the location of the rebel base, and all would fight to the death.

The broadcaster was taken up on a high mountain, guarded by only five personell. Two engineers got about their devilish work, hacking their way through safety after safety until they were able to interface with the sats directly.

Minutes ticked by as they negotiated with the SatSec systems. The men were uneasy, knowing that they shone out like a becon on any sensor screen and were likely to get assaulted soon. They'd mined the road and had a single rocket launching vehicle, but would that be enough?

===========================================

The lieutennant nodded. "Our intel on the pigs is decent. We don't have any sufficient stopping power to mount any real offensive though, no mechs. Well, a few. But you took out about a tenth of our total number in that scuffle, if that gives you any idea.

We've got enough L-A-Vs and infantry to stuff any normal attack back down their throats though, and some heavy anti-armor stuff if we can get into range. The will of the worker is strong, but not strong enough to take out a Leo with an infantry squad."

The lieutennant nodded. "Our intel on the pigs is decent. We don't have any sufficient stopping power to mount any real offensive though, no mechs. Well, a few. But you took out about a tenth of our total number in that scuffle, if that gives you any idea.

We've got enough L-A-Vs and infantry to stuff any normal attack back down their throats though, and some heavy anti-armor stuff if we can get into range. The will of the worker is strong, but not strong enough to take out a Leo with an infantry squad."

Gregory nodded his head, "I apologize for that little scuffle, however we can be of great service to you. We can return the destroyed mechs with new ones, if you need them that bad. Were together now, and together I also have a revelation for you."

He took a long puff of his cigar, blowing it away from Fredrick. "A few men with the right equipment can take out three Leo's if they wanted to. I know the suits weakness, and it sticks out like a thumb to the experienced person."

BUMPZORS!